


Omnia Quae Dixi

by All_My_Characters_Are_Dead



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, prince/mage au, this is officially an Ongoing Pain AU, title is in latin because latin is a dead language, warnings are now active
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-06 09:08:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8743963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_My_Characters_Are_Dead/pseuds/All_My_Characters_Are_Dead
Summary: “Promise me. Promise you’ll use me mercilessly, without regard for my wellbeing.” Ushijima's gaze was firm and unyielding, and Kenjirou found himself stiffening and glaring up at the mage in return.“That’s awfully presumptuous of you, isn’t it? Demanding something like that from your prince?” Kenjirou sneered. Ushijima simply shrugged, unfazed.“I shouldn’t have to demand it of you. I am the kingdom’s greatest weapon. Besides, you are one of two possible crown princes. I do not owe you my allegiance yet.”





	1. 11

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, those of you who've been with me through the start of many AUs will know how this works. For anyone who's new, here's the deal: I'm trying this AU out, and if I get a positive response, I'll continue with the complex and devastating plot I have planned out with the help of my partner in crime. So leave me comments if you want more of this fic, and if I get enough response I'll add it to my active AUs. Otherwise it might get put on the back burner for a while.

“Kenjirou, wait up! You can’t go in there alone!” Kenjirou paused and glanced over his shoulder at his companion. 

“Hurry up, then, Taichi,” Kenjirou complained. His friend, taller and a little older, was the son of Lord Kawanishi, one of Kenjirou’s father’s advisors, and greatly disliked the trouble Kenjirou often dragged him into. “Come on, or Eita’s going to beat us!” Taichi huffed as he finally reached Kenjirou, who was stomping his foot as he waited outside the gate to the courtyard where the mages dueled. Kenjirou was expecting his friend to scold him, but instead Taichi simply took Shirabu’s hand and bowed over it. 

“Eita will never beat you,” Taichi said solemnly. “Him being a year older doesn’t mean anything.” Shirabu rolled his eyes and yanked his hand away. 

“Eita’s already friends with that mage, and that bastard,” Kenjirou huffed. “Being older means he’s known people longer. But I don’t care about that today. Today’s the day they rank the mages, and I wanna see them duel for the top spot!”

“You should be using this as a chance to make connections with the mages-”

“I will,” Kenjirou interrupted. “But I have to know which mages I should make connections with, don’t I?” Taichi studied him for a second, then nodded. Kenjirou returned the gesture sharply, then stepped into the courtyard beyond, Taichi on his heels. They threaded their way through the crowd lining the courtyard until they stood at the edge of an open area where the young mages dueled. The matches between the young mages - children, really, around Kenjirou’s age - were still going on, but the pair currently occupying the dueling area seemed to be near the end of their match, much to Kenjirou’s disappointment. One of the young mages was a small, slender boy who somehow had perfectly groomed hair even as he whirled out of the way of a stream of flames and then dropped to one knee, whispering to the earth beneath him. His opponent, who was completely disheveled and gasping for breath, stumbled and nearly fell as the ground shifted, forming a serpent out of dirt that rose up, twining around his legs and then encasing his whole body in unyielding earthen coils before he could do anything else. 

“Winner, Daishou Suguru!” the adult mage refereeing the match announced. The earth-snake vanished, reduced to a cloud of dust that wafted to the ground, dropping the defeated mage to the ground, and the still-perfectly-presentable boy lifted one hand in a polite acknowledgement of his victory. 

“He’s impressive,” Kenjirou murmured. 

“He did win without much obvious effort,” Taichi agreed, approval in his voice. Kenjirou was about to reply, but stopped as every hair on his body seemed to stand on end, the air around him positively crackling with magic. Kenjirou glanced around and saw that a boy taller than Taichi had joined them. He looked older, stronger, than most of the children Kenjirou knew, and he recognized him right away. 

“Do not trust Daishou,” said Ushijima Wakatoshi, who was rumored to be the most powerful of the young mages, as well as one of Eita’s supporters. “He enjoys his power too much, and he does not have the kingdom’s best interests at heart.” Kenjirou scanned the crowd for Eita, but didn’t see him. Though, that really could have been because it was difficult for him to look at anyone else when Ushijima was beside him. The older boy radiated power, and Kenjirou wanted that power. If he had Ushijima on his side, Eita wouldn’t stand a chance. 

“And I suppose you do?” Taichi murmured, tugging Kenjirou’s arm to pull him away from Ushijima. 

“Of course. I will become the kingdom’s greatest weapon, and I will serve the crown until I die,” the young mage replied steadily. 

“Then why do you support Eita? He’s too weak to-”

“Eita has much to learn, it is true,” Ushijima agreed solemnly. “However, I believe he will grow into the prince he was meant to be, and he will lead the kingdom well and kindly.”

“Kindness is not what this kingdom needs,” Kenjirou said before he could stop himself. “Eita doesn’t have the stomach to make sacrifices. By the time he or I become king, the treaty with Seijou will expire, and we will more than likely be forced to go to war if we want to keep our trade routes through there,” he said grimly, naming the small seaside kingdom to the south. Ushijima was silent for a moment, and Kenjirou wondered if maybe he had gone too far with his criticism of Eita.

“Perhaps you are right,” Ushijima said at last. “But you are not as experienced or as well-respected by the common people or the nobles as Eita is. Right now, he is the more likely to secure for the kingdom’s future.” The referee called two names - Ushijima and another young mage, Sakusa, for the second-to-last match, with the winner likely going on to face Daishou to battle for the title of the strongest mage in their year - and Ushijima stepped into the open area, the aura of intensity and power around him getting stronger. 

“Ushijima!” Kenjirou called. Ushijima didn’t look back, but he did stop walking away. “Does that mean if I become the one who is the best choice for the kingdom’s future, you’ll support me instead?” Now Ushijima did look back, turning his head to meet Kenjirou’s eyes. 

“I will do what is best for the kingdom,” he said firmly. Then he faced his opponent. 

“I know that look,” Taichi sighed. “That look always means trouble.”

“I want him, Taichi,” Kenjirou decided. “I want him to serve me.” Taichi was quiet for a moment. 

“All right. But it’s going to take time to prove yourself to him, and in the meantime, you still need a mage who will be loyal to you and protect you,” he pointed out at last. 

“I know. That one will do, I think. He’s in the top four, right?” Kenjirou replied, nodding to Ushijima’s opponent, a curly-haired mage who wore a mask over the lower half of his face. 

“Sakusa Kyoomi, one of the few mages from that desert kingdom your father conquered a few years ago,” Taichi noted. “I heard he’s supposed to be almost as powerful as Ushijima, even though he’s a year younger.” 

A surge of energy cut off their conversation as Ushijima and Sakusa attacked each other. Kenjirou’s eyes widened as he took in the raging magic swirling around the two mages as they collided again and again, both apparently using physical motions instead of words to channel their powers. 

“Yeah,” Kenjirou breathed. “He’ll do.”

* * *

 

Kenjirou didn’t approach Sakusa right after the tournament; the curly-haired mage had lost to Ushijima, and Kenjirou’s father was always telling him to let people stew in their misery before approaching them with a way out. So when Kenjirou approached the mage, Sakusa was still confined to a bed in the mages’ infirmary, recovered enough to be impatient to get out but his body still too weak to stand, let alone use magic. 

“Sakusa Kyoomi,” Kenjirou greeted him. The mage eyed him balefully. “I’m-”

“I know who you are. What business does a royal like you have here?” Sakusa mumbled, his voice muffled by the mask covering the lower half of his face. 

“If you can’t guess that, you’re not as smart as Taichi thinks you are,” Kenjirou replied, gesturing to the taller boy who stood at his shoulder, expression bored. 

“You want me to pledge my loyalty to you,” Sakusa grumbled. Kenjirou couldn’t stop his lips from twitching. 

“Yes, I do.”

“Because the second-born prince needs the second-best mage?” Sakusa asked, eyes narrowing above his mask. Kenjirou shook his head. 

“No. Because I knew before that tournament that Ushijima already belongs to Eita. That Daishou mage seems untrustworthy, and the one he fought to get to face Ushijima in the final duel was weak. I need a strong mage I can trust,” Kenjirou told him. 

“And that’s me by default,” Sakusa huffed. “I’m not interested.” 

“You don’t want a chance to prove you’re better than Ushijima, then?” Taichi asked, his tone perfectly even and disinterested as he lifted his hand and examined his nails. 

“There’s next year’s ranking tournament, and we have duels all the time,” Sakusa replied. 

“You can’t beat him in a duel,” Taichi sighed, dropping his hand to Kenjirou’s shoulder. “No one anywhere near your age can. But if you let Kenjirou use you, maybe there’s another way to beat him.” 

“Become my personal mage, and when I beat Eita and become king, you’ll have your victory over Ushijima,” Kenjirou added, watching Sakusa closely. 

“Let me think about it,” the mage sighed. Kenjirou nodded slowly. 

“Come on, Taichi. We have- who’s that?” Kenjirou frowned at the two boys who were making their way down the aisle between the beds toward them. 

“That’s Komori, one of the apprentice healers, on the left,” Sakusa answered. “He’s been lecturing me about ranking duels not supposed to be fights to the death. And the one with him is Yamagata. I don’t know much about him, but he’s been hanging around the infirmary a lot lately.”

“But being willing to throw everything into a battle is something that might be required of you in the future, so it’s good to see you push your limits now,” Kenjirou said absently, focusing on the other boy, who stopped a respectful distance away and bowed. 

“Prince Shirabu Kenjirou,” the boy greeted him. “It’s an honor to meet you.” Taichi shifted so he could easily push Kenjirou to safety if he needed to. Kenjirou bit his lip; he hated being called by his full name. Since the king had two political marriages, and each had produced a potential heir, Kenjirou and his half brother, Eita, had their mothers’ family names until one of them was confirmed as the crown prince. Being called Shirabu was just another reminder that he hadn’t beaten Eita yet, hadn’t been named the future king. 

“Don’t call him that,” Taichi said quietly, glancing at Kenjirou’s expression. “He doesn’t like it. Just use your Highness or Prince Kenjirou.” The newcomer hesitated, then bowed again, more deeply this time. 

“Forgive me, Highness. I didn’t know,” he said stiffly, like it was a rehearsed line. And, considering Kenjirou didn’t know this kid, it probably was. Anyone their age who was in the palace had similar lines scripted out for when they offended someone of higher rank. 

“Don’t worry about it. Who are you?” Kenjirou asked. 

“My name is Yamagata Hayato. I was raised as a healer and a bodyguard,” he answered, straightening. “I’ve been assigned to protect you.” Kenjirou blinked at him. 

“Why?”

“Kenjirou,” Taichi sighed. “Think about it. Eita’s probably gotten Ushijima to pledge his loyalty to him, and you don’t have a mage yet. Of course the king wants you to have a bodyguard.” 

“He’s just a kid, like us,” Kenjirou muttered. 

“So’s Sakusa, but you were just trying to recruit him,” Taichi pointed out. 

“When I said I was raised for this, I meant it,” Yamagata said quietly. “I’ve been training to serve the royal family since I could walk.” Komori grimaced, and Yamagata elbowed him before he could say anything. Kenjirou studied the young bodyguard for a moment. 

“All right. Sakusa, I still hope you’ll have an answer for me soon,” Kenjirou said, glancing at the mage, who nodded and pretended not to see the way Komori’s fingers clenched into fists. 

“Of course,” the mage replied steadily. Kenjirou focused on Yamagata.

“Let’s go discuss what you can do,” Kenjirou suggested. The bodyguard bowed quickly. “And cut that out. You’re going to get both of us killed if you spend all your time worrying about being formal. I’m Kenjirou, this is Taichi. Come with us; we’ll go to my rooms to talk.” Yamagata started to bow, but stopped himself. Kenjirou nodded sharply in approval, then led the way. Taichi walked beside him, and Yamagata trailed after them, only glancing back at Komori and Sakusa once. 

“You still need a mage if you’re going to face Eita on even terms, especially if he really does get Ushijima as his personal mage,” Taichi murmured when he noticed the smile tugging at Kenjirou’s lips. 

“I know. But even if Ushijima chooses Eita for now, he won’t stay with him forever. I’ll prove I’m the more worthy prince, take Ushijima for my own mage, and become the crown prince. I’m going to beat Eita, just you watch,” Kenjirou replied. He glanced over his shoulder to Yamagata. “You’ll help, too, right?” Yamagata blinked at him, then nodded. Kenjirou turned so he was walking backwards, expression serious even as Taichi reached out to guide him around an uneven spot in the path. “Good. Then you’ll call us by our names, and we’ll call you Hayato,” Kenjirou decided. The young bodyguard nodded again, eyes wide but his posture relaxing slightly. Kenjirou turned back around, satisfied, and Hayato quickened his pace to walk at the prince’s side. Kenjirou smiled as Hayato fell into step with him.

Now he just needed to win Sakusa over, then Ushijima. After that, the throne would be as good as his.


	2. 16 Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY GUYS THIS IS HAPPENING NOW I FINALLY GOT OVER MY WRITER'S BLOCK A BIT AND MADE THE NEXT PART HAPPEN. SO HERE YOU GO.   
> PLEASE NOTICE THE ARCHIVE WARNINGS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED, AND THE RATING CHANGE.

“Kenjirou, you can’t go in there!” Hayato hissed, hurrying after the prince. “Taichi, Kyoomi, help me out!”

“You should know by now, Kenjirou goes wherever he wants,” Taichi sighed, trailing after them. “It’s better to just go with him instead of trying to stop him.” 

“I could probably stop him with magic,” Kyoomi offered. 

“Kyoomi, if you try, I swear I’ll- just behave, okay, guys?” Kenjirou muttered. The others exchanged resigned sighs and nodded. Kenjirou fixed his expression into a politely neutral look, then strode forward, completely ignoring the guards on either side of the door he fully intended to get through. One of them moved sideways to block his path, and Kenjirou glared up at him. “Move aside,” he ordered. 

“You weren’t summoned to this meeting,” the guard replied. “I’m sorry, your Highness, but-”

“Kyoomi,” Kenjirou called. The mage shook his head and lifted his hand, his power wrapping around him in ripples, as though heat was distorting the air. The guard paled and moved out of the way. “Thank you.” Kenjirou reached for the door handle, but Hayato beat him to it, opening the door and stepping inside to scan the room before Shirabu stepped in with him. Silence fell. Kenjirou inclined his head in greeting. “Father. Eita. Generals,” he said politely. The king, scowling at the intrusion, started to speak. “I’m not going to stay behind while everyone else goes off to war.” 

“You weren’t summoned,” Eita snapped from his place beside the king. 

“I’m betting the bastard wasn’t either, but he’s still here,” Kenjirou replied, shooting a glare at the silver-haired boy behind Eita. He used the excuse to scan the room again, looking for Ushijima, who had gotten closer and closer to the older prince but apparently wasn’t at his side, even though he was Eita’s personal mage. 

“Koushi’s here as my advisor,” Eita said stiffly. “Besides, you’re-”

“I am not too young or too inexperienced,” Kenjirou interrupted. Eita scowled, but Kenjirou ignored him and turned to face the king. “Father, I’m only a year younger than Eita, and I’ve studied strategy and the Seijou armies and commanders more than he has. He’s been studying logistics and economics and building his own strength in combat, while I’ve focused on military matters and the recently conquered regions.” The king was silent for a moment. Then he glanced over his generals before refocusing on Kenjirou. 

“What do you know of the situation?” he asked. Kenjirou squared his shoulders, gathered his thoughts, and then spoke as calmly as he could. 

“I know that with the treaty with Seijou set to expire in the next two to three years, the prince of the region, Iwaizumi, won’t want to wait for us to conquer them when that happens. This rebellion on the border is likely his doing, and his armies will be waiting for us to back up the rebels. His generals are clever and known for underhanded tactics. There are also two prominent mages that could give them an edge: the prince’s personal mage, Oikawa Tooru, and the younger, uncontrollable mage Kyoutani Kentarou. If one of Iwaizumi’s generals could get control of Kyoutani, he’d probably be almost as strong as Kyoomi.” Kyoomi huffed at that, but didn’t protest. “I also know that most of Seijou’s military strength is in their navy, so if this becomes a prolonged conflict, they might try to get their sailors to fight on land, and that won’t go well for them. They’re desperate and they want to make this quick. That makes them dangerous.” Kenjirou stopped talking and watched the king’s reaction.

“Very well. You and your companions will move with General Oohira’s troops. You may stay for the duration of the strategy meeting, and you’ll move out with his men in the morning,” the king decided. Eita scowled and started to speak up, then apparently thought better of it and stayed quiet. “Now, as for our strategy…”

* * *

 

“You just can’t let it go, can you?” Eita hissed. Kenjirou ignored his brother’s words and kept walking, his friends clustered around him and following his lead in ignoring Eita. “Kenjirou! You burst into a meeting you had no right to be in, and then you just ignore me?”

“Kenjirou,” Taichi warned, gently resting a hand on Kenjirou’s arm. He’d noticed Kenjirou clenching his fists. “Don’t.” Kenjirou shook off his friend’s touch and turned to face his brother. 

“You want to talk about no right to be in that meeting, Eita? Let’s talk about the bastard then, huh? You haven’t so much as spoken to me in years, but you’ve had precious little Koushi by your side the whole time. I had every right to be in that meeting, and he has no right to even be in the palace!” Kenjirou spat. Eita’s scowl deepened. 

“Koushi’s our brother too, Kenjirou. Just because you hate him doesn’t mean-”

“That son of a  _ vulture _ is not a prince. He’s not my brother. And neither are you,” Kenjirou hissed. “I should have been included in that meeting in the first place, and Father knows it. I bet you’re the one who convinced him not to summon me. What I don’t get is why. Are you that petty? You don’t even want the throne, Eita! Or if you do, you’re stupid. You’ll never be king with that bastard as your advisor and a personal mage you don’t even bring to strategy meetings.”

“Not everyone is as bitter and closed-minded as you,” Eita retorted. 

“Not everyone is as naive as you, either,” Kenjirou countered. “You want to play loving brothers with that bastard? Fine. But like I said, neither of you is my brother. So leave me out of it. You don’t get to ignore me for years and then come back and try to tell me how to act.”

“Kenjirou, that’s not what-”

“Go to hell, Eita,” Kenjirou growled, turning his back on the older boy. He could practically feel Eita’s indignance and fury as he walked away, his companions falling into step around him.

* * *

 

“We have to retreat. Get your mage out of there!” General Oohira’s shout was nearly lost in the roar of the enemy mage who was tearing up Oohira’s toops. 

“No!” Kenjirou snapped. “Kyoomi can handle this. We just have to take out the mage’s handler.” Oohira frowned. 

“That monster is killing my men. I can’t let-”

“Then pull your men back. Taichi, stay with him so Kyoomi can find you. Hayato, come with me,” Kenjirou ordered. Taichi narrowed his eyes like he wanted to protest, but it was General Oohira who spoke. 

“We can’t abandon you,” he insisted. “Prince Eita is on the other end of the battlefield, also in danger. We can’t leave you to-”

“Unless you know what that mage’s handler looks like, you and your men will only get killed or tip them off,” Kenjirou pointed out. “Hayato and I can go in, kill the handler, let Kyoomi take down the mage, and then Kyoomi will get us back to you.”

“If your father finds out-”

“I’ll take the blame. You just get your men out of here. They have families to get back to, don’t they?” Kenjirou reminded him. Oohira scowled, but reluctantly nodded. “All right. Come on, Hayato. Let’s go find General Yahaba.” 

Kenjirou led the way around the edge of the battle, Hayato keeping watch for potential threats as Kenjirou scanned the fighting for the general who’d become infamous after the rumors began that he’d tamed the uncontrollable mage Kyoutani. Kenjirou caught sight of a flash of pale brown hair streaked with silver - supposedly, the silver hair appeared when Yahaba took command of Kyoutani - and reached for Hayato’s arm to alert him to the general’s presence. Hayato followed Kenjirou’s gaze, noticed the man with the silver streaks in his hair, and shot a glance back at Kenjirou for confirmation.

“Kill him, Hayato,” Kenjirou ordered. Hayato slipped forward, darting between enemies who were too occupied with stomping out the remnants of the soldiers who’d been told to pull back and abandon the area to notice a stealthy bodyguard in their midst. Kenjirou waited for a few seconds, then followed. He followed Hayato’s path through the chaos, and emerged into the clear area around General Yahaba that had allowed him to spot the enemy officer’s signature hairstyle. Kenjirou spotted the cause of the open space a moment after he stepped into it: the two mages caught in their battle not far from where Yahaba stood. 

Kenjirou’s own mage, Kyoomi, was locked in a desperate struggle with Yahaba’s mage, Kyoutani. The animalistic enemy mage was throwing himself at Kyoomi, power wrapped around him, strong enough to warp the air as he moved. His eyes were glowing, the pupils the wrong shape - slitted like a dragon’s, not round like a human’s - and his body was larger, his skin rippling with scales and fur, his ears pointed and gray, almost like a wolf’s. No matter how many times he tried to slam his monstrous form into Kyoomi, though, Kenjirou’s mage repelled him, flames and sand and blistering wind swirling around him. Kenjirou frowned; Kyoomi should have been able to easily dispatch Kyoutani, so why…?

Kenjirou glanced around the battlefield and saw Kyoomi’s flames burning through the ranks of their enemies on the far side, protecting the retreating soldiers as well as the flank of Eita’s army as they clashed with the forces of General Matsukawa, the Seijou prince’s cousin and advisor. There were also multiple sand constructs in the approximate shape of humans but several times the size wandering around, picking off any soldiers who got too close to the flames but managed to survive. Kenjirou glanced at Kyoomi, and for a second, he regretted telling General Oohira that he and his people could handle this. If Kyoomi didn’t rest soon, they’d all be in trouble. Kyoomi’s powers had grown exponentially since his duel with Ushijima five years before, but Kenjirou could tell by the sluggish motions Kyoomi was using to urge on the fire-and-sandstorm around him that he was reaching his limit.

Which meant Kenjirou had to end this quickly. He returned his attention to Hayato and saw his bodyguard pacing in a circle around General Yahaba, who had apparently noticed Hayato’s approach and was watching him. Kenjirou grimaced and waited for Hayato’s pacing to take him around to the other side of Yahaba, who turned with him, sword held easily in one hand, unknowingly putting his back to Kenjirou. Kenjirou darted forward and seized a handful of Yahaba’s hair before the enemy general noticed his presence. Hayato shouted in surprise, but knew better than to start lecturing Kenjirou just yet. Instead, he surged toward Yahaba, his daggers flashing as he closed in on the general, whose throat was exposed as Kenjirou continued to haul on his hair. 

There was a roar from the direction of the mages’ battle as Kyoutani noticed the two of them attacking Yahaba. Kenjirou ignored the cry and focused on the opponent in front of him. Hayato’s daggers were aimed for Yahaba’s stomach and throat. The general managed to catch the dagger going for his neck - he caught it on his palm, the metal biting deep into his hand - but Hayato’s second dagger plunged into his navel, into the gap between the plates of armor on his torso and thighs. Yahaba screeched and twisted, the sword that had been hanging at his side slicing into Hayato’s side. The bodyguard grunted and twisted his dagger in Yahaba’s body, and Kenjirou stepped out of the way as the two fell. Hayato let out a pained whine as he fell, and Yahaba grunted as Hayato landed on top of him, their weapons falling from their hands as pain from their wounds made their fingers slip. Kenjirou crouched and snatched Hayato’s fallen dagger, then pushed his wounded body aside and brought the blade down on Yahaba’s neck. The general gurgled and choked, his blood spilling warm over Kenjirou’s hands from the gaping slash in his neck and pooling around his knees from the wound below his stomach. 

“Kenjirou!” Kyoomi’s voice, raspy with exhaustion and high-pitched with fear, wrenched Kenjirou’s attention away from the dying enemy and injured friend before him, and his head came up just in time to see Kyoutani abandoning his battle with Kyoomi to charge at Kenjirou, a wordless, inhuman roar ripping from his throat. 

Kenjirou scrambled backwards, and Hayato forced himself upright and threw himself into Kyoutani’s path, crying out as the huge mage slammed right past him, one foot connecting with Hayato’s ribs on his uninjured side. Hayato hissed and twisted just enough to keep himself in Kyoutani’s path, and the mage’s other foot came down on Hayato’s wound. Kyoutani yelped as he slipped in Hayato’s blood and fell on top of him. 

“The General is down!” someone behind Kenjirou scrambled to his feet and nearly fell, but someone caught his elbow and pulled him away from the blood spreading across the ground. Kenjirou bit his lip to keep back an indignant squeak and looked up at the person who’d steadied him even as that person swayed a bit themselves. 

“Kyoomi,” Kenjirou recognized. “Get Hayato, we have to go.” 

“I can’t transport both of you,” Kyoomi said quietly. “Taichi is too far away, and I used too much power making sure the enemy didn’t follow Oohira’s troops when he started to pull back.” Kenjirou hesitated. If he sent Hayato and Kyoomi ahead, they’d get in trouble for leaving him behind, and he’d be captured. Seijou probably wouldn’t kill him, but he’d lose any chance of ever having Ushijima choose him, and any chance of ever getting the throne. 

“Leave him,” Kenjirou ordered. Kyoomi stiffened, his gaze darting from their fallen friend to the enemy soldiers who had noticed the fall of their mage and general to the prince. 

“But he’ll die if we leave him!”

“You’ll never have a chance to beat Ushijima, and I’ll never be king if you don’t get me out of here  _ right now _ !” Kenjirou snapped. 

“But-”

“You are my mage, Kyoomi, and you  _ will _ obey me! Transport us to Taichi  _ now!” _ Kenjirou commanded, glaring at him as fiercely as he could. Kyoomi still hesitated, so Kenjirou reached up and tangled his fingers in Kyoomi’s hair, the curls damp with sweat and coated in a fine layer of sand. “Kyoomi.” Kenjirou’s voice was quiet steel as he pulled the mage’s head down so Kyoomi had no choice but to look at Kenjirou’s face. “Transport. Us. If you don’t do it now, we’re all going to be captured or killed.” Kyoomi whined and closed his eyes, and summoned the last of his strength. 


End file.
